The figures are astounding: the 2011 census indicated that more than 400,000 residents were born in Italy or had parents or grandparents born in Italy.
It would be difficult to summarise the contribution that Italians have made to Australian society and its development.
Their creativity, intelligence, work ethic, family values and traditions have all become an integral part of Australia’s cultural identity.
The efforts of Italian businessmen shaped Melbourne during the years of mass migration.
Among these businessmen were Salvatore “Sam” and Carmelo “Mel” Piedimonte.
One thing is certain: of the 400,000 Italo-Australians in the 2011 census, many of them would’ve done their shopping at Piedimonte’s Licensed Supermarket over the years.
This year, the iconic supermarket celebrates 60 years of service to the community.
Piedimonte’s journey in Australia began with the arrival of Giuseppe “Joe” Piedimonte in the early 1950s.
Upon returning from the war, Giuseppe managed stores in Milazzo, in the Sicilian province of Messina, as his parents had done before him.
His grandfather and great-grandfather traded across Sicily when the only means of transport was horse and carriage.
Having found work in a woollen mill in Coburg, Giuseppe became “Joe” to make things easier for his Aussie colleagues.
He was soon joined by his wife Anna and sons Salvatore and Carmelo.
The two boys began working at a young age, Mel as a technician at Red Robin and Sam at Moran & Cato on Coburg’s Sydney Road, where he helped open the first self-service supermarket.
“Moran & Cato had stores everywhere and the one where I worked, on the corner of Moreland Road, was the first to open a self-service supermarket,” Sam recalls.
“You worked hard there and I did exhausting shifts from 7:00 am to 9:00 pm.
“After three weeks I went to the boss and asked him if I deserved a pay rise after all of my extra hours and he gave me five pence a week extra, which wasn’t much even in those times.”
Having returned home, disappointed by his experience at work, Sam told his father it was time to start up his own business.
A building which was previously used as a butcher’s became available on Fitzroy’s Best Street, which was a hub for Italians at the time.
Sam says his father used the family house as a security for the bank to get a loan and buy the building.
“We rolled up our sleeves and cleaned it from top to bottom and thanks to the connections I’d made through Moran & Cato, various distributors supplied us with goods,” Sam adds.
“But in the first week the sales were minimal.”
Thursday, August 28, 1958, was the opening day of Piedimonte’s “delicatessen”.
The profit made that day was little to none: 29 pounds and 50 pence.
“Italians didn’t know about us and our Australian clients didn’t know what to do with parmesan and olive oil,” Sam explains.
“So we made leaflets in Italian and English inviting people to visit our store and we delivered them to all the houses in the area.”
That marketing strategy proved to be the winning move and within a few weeks, the store was full of customers.
Italians began to arrive not only from Fitzroy and the neighbouring suburbs of Carlton and North Melbourne, but from all of the northern suburbs.
The afternoon was particularly busy, around the closing time of local factories such as Red Robin Hosiery and Cadet Shoes, where many Italian women worked.
The presence of Anna, a loving wife and mother who came to help when she finished work at 3:00 pm, proved invaluable, with her attention to the needs of the public and personalised service.
Piedimonte’s soon became an epicentre of the Italian community, where everybody went to get the best ingredients of the Italian cuisine, from parmesan to salami.
“At that time, Italians came to the store and bought crates of pasta and whole salamis,” Sam recalls.
“In 1962, we made the first expansion with the introduction of the self-service system to speed up service.
“Then we had customers coming from Doncaster, Bulleen and even as far as Geelong, to do their shopping for the week.”
For the grand opening of Joe Piedimonte & Sons, on October 10, 1963, Italian families were invited to a gala day in the most Italian store in Melbourne.
The announcement of the event, published in Il Globo, confirmed “unbeatable prices for imported and local products”.
Nineteen sixty-three was an important year for the Piedimonte family, especially Mel, who married Giuseppina.
A few years later, in 1966, Sam celebrated his own marriage to Rita.
The family’s extension also marked the beginning of the invaluable contribution of the wives to Piedimonte’s growth and success.
This very success led to the business’ expansion, and the family bought more property on Best Street and the nearby Scotchmer Street.
In 1982, the fruit and vegetable departments were opened, along with that of bread, pastries, alcohol and meat.
“The reality was that Fitzroy was changing, so we needed to expand and, above all, keep up with the changing times,” Sam says.
Piedimonte’s continued to grow, with the opening of a second supermarket in 1991, in Bell Street, Pascoe Vale.
Today, with two supermarkets and other activities, the family employs more than 240 people.
For some years now, members of the third generation of Piedimontes (both brothers and their wives had three children each), have played an important role in the family business and they all possess the same spirit and initiative as their parents.
Despite 60 years of trading and offers from big supermarket chains, the Piedimonte brothers don’t plan on retiring any time soon.
Instead, they’re planning a further expansion of the business: a new supermarket similar to Eataly, which is famous in Italy and the rest of the world.
The new store will have underground parking, a restaurant on the first floor, an area for tasting wine, cheese and cold cuts, a cafe, a basement cellar for special events and, finally, seven floors of apartments above it all.
“We’re still trying to get permission to go ahead with the construction,” Sam says.
“We apparently chose the wrong architects and we received many objections to their project.
“We received protests from 600 of our clients, not because of the extension itself, but because it wasn’t explained to them correctly.”
One of the main objections made by the most loyal clients of Piedimonte’s in Best Street was regarding the different flooring of the building, which has been enlarged several times and which, with its multifaceted mosaic, traces its history and gradual expansion.
“We’re revising the project and it will be executed in two phases,” Sam explains.
“We’re confident that this time it will be approved by the community.”
The Piedimonte brothers’ journey will continue for many years, and their legacy will last through their children Joseph, Anna Maria and Sarina, and Anna, Giovanna and Joe.
And it’s a legacy which will always be marked by the family’s motto: “We serve to serve again.”
